A LIZARD and a snake had a lucky escape after a house blaze in Ellesmere Port saw them rescued by firefighters.

It took nearly nine hours for four fire engines and the aerial appliance to tackle the fire at an address on The Oval on Saturday afternoon.

The fire involved the first floor of a semi-detached property and had spread to the roof void when firefighters arrived.

Alongside fighting the fire, crews also rescued an iguana and a boa from the property.

A spokesman for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "The fire involved the first floor of a semi-detached property and had spread to the roof void on arrival of the service.

"The aerial appliance was used so the crews could fight the fire from the roof and remove the tiles in order to check the area for hotspots using a thermal imaging camera."

Wirral Globe: